Liga Pilipinas president Noli Eala said yesterday he expects to schedule at least 400 games in two conferences during the innovative league’s inaugural season with 12 teams confirmed to see action and four more to sign up within the week.

Eala named the Cagayan de Oro Rescuers of coach Jun Noel, Taguig of coach Jude Roque, Ilocos Sur, Pampanga of team manager Gil Cortez, Pagadian, Zamboanga Latinos, Cebu Ninos of coach Yayoy Alcoseba, Ozamiz Cota, Iloilo Warriors, Mandaue, Cavite and Davao as the teams locked in for the first campaign.

Under negotiation are teams from Rizal with Rep. Robbie Puno and Gov. Jun Ynares, Batangas with Sen. Ralph Recto, Baguio with Mayor Reinaldo Bautista, Tacloban with Kenneth Uy, General Santos City with Manny Pacquiao, Bacolod City with Dodong Bascon, Surigao del Sur with former Rep. Butch Pichay and Ormoc. Eala said Liga will choose four teams to complete the cast of 16.

“We hope to finalize the teams this week,” said Eala. “Lineups will be submitted early May then we’ll hold a workshop with team owners, managers and coaches on May 8-9 in Tagaytay. Our launch will be in Cebu on May 24 with the teams introduced to media in a hotel ballroom like how they do it in FIBA. The first leg of games will be played in various venues starting May 28.”

Eala said he has initiated talks with PBL commissioner Chino Trinidad on the possibility of drafting free agents or those without live contracts and SBP executive director Patrick Gregorio on enlisting standouts from the national youth pool.

“We’ll start our season when the PBL is over,” said Eala. “If there are Liga coaches interested in PBL players, we’ll clear the recruitment with Commissioner Chino. We don’t anticipate any conflict. We welcome Fil-Ams and coach Chot (Reyes) has in fact recommended someone for Taguig. We’re imposing a minimum of eight homegrown players in a 14-man lineup and a limit of two ex-pros who aren’t homegrown.”

FIBA rules will be used in Liga games. After the first phase where each team will host a leg consisting of three games, the 12 top finishers advance to the playoffs. The playoffs will consist of a wildcard stage involving eight teams, four best-of-five quarterfinal series, two best-of-five semifinal series and one best-of-five finals.

Eala explained that each leg will be a mini-tournament of four teams with the finishers earning points like in a tennis or golf circuit and winning cash incentives. The points will be added up to determine which teams qualify for the playoffs.

“We are maintaining the home-and-away format but the leg system dramatically reduces total expenses,” he said. “It will also be less costly for TV networks to cover our league because we will schedule two games in a venue a playing day with two legs a week.”

Eala said Liga’s minimum monthly salary is P10,000 and the cap is P20,000. “Our salary scales do not include provisions for bonuses,” he went on. “Theoretically, a team may pay players only the minimum but with a wide latitude for performance bonuses.”

Eala said while the Liga borrows from the community concept of the defunct MBA, it will not make the same mistakes. The MBA, which tried to rival the PBA and pirated players with offers of runaway salaries, folded up after four years because it couldn’t sustain the high cost of maintenance.

“We’re tapping communities all over the country to support their Liga teams,” said Eala. “We want to develop team loyalty like in the NBA. We also want to discover new talent.”

A key objective is job creation. “Liga wants to give players the opportunity to play,” said Eala. “We’re creating jobs. We’re offering a new platform for players to keep a relationship with the game and their communities. Players now don’t have to go far to join a league where they can make a living through basketball. They can stay in their hometowns and play for pay.”

The newly formed regional basketball league Liga Pilipinas has received a major boost for its upcoming maiden season by attracting the support of most of the key provinces and cities in the country and known patrons of sports.

Liga Pilipinas CEO and President Noli Eala announced that 12 teams representing various regions of the Philippines have officially and formally been accepted as the first batch of founding members of Pinoy Basketbol Inc., mother company of Liga Pilipinas and the product of the merger of the NBC, MVBA and Third Force Inc. These are Cebu City, Iloilo, Pampanga, Taguig, Bacolod, Misamis Oriental, Ozamis City, Pagadian City, Davao, Ilocos Sur, Laguna and Zamboanga City.

"It is very encouraging and exciting to see the tremendous interest and support of the LGUs and known personalities in the various regions. I suppose they realize that there is true meaning and value to what we are trying to collectively achieve," Eala stated.

Known sports patrons have also joined hands to throw in their full backing of the fledgling league including businessmen Michelle Lhullier of ML Kwarta Padala (Cebu), Manny Pangilinan of Smart (Pampanga), Mikee Romero of Harbour Center (Taguig), Robert Uy of Toyota Iloilo, Tony Agustin of West Negros University (Bacolod), Rolando and Junie Navarro of Zamboanga, and Pagcor Chairman Ephraim Genuino of Trace College (Laguna).

Eala added that 8 more teams are under final negotiations for at least four more slots in the inaugural conference of Liga which will feature a brand new "tour" and "home and away" format. Among them are Batangas, Pangasinan, Quezon, Tagaytay City in Cavite, General Santos City, Mandaue City, Rizal Province and Baguio City.

"With the support of major figures in both the public and private sector, Liga Pilipinas has taken a concrete step not only in giving our young talents all over the provinces a chance to play basketball at a competitive level but also in unifying the communities through their support of teams they can truly call their own. " Eala remarked.

STARTING May 31, the multi-titled M. Lhuillier Kwarta Padala Jewelers will be carrying a new identity when they compete in the inaugural Liga Pilipinas which open doors in Cebu City.

The Jewelers, the name that has been attached to the team owned by basketball patron Michel Lhuillier and coached by the decorated Raul “Yayoy” Alcoseba for more than 20 years will now be called the Cebu Niños, the representatives to the nationwide amateur basketball tournament organized by former PBA commissioner Noli Eala and sanctioned by the BAP-SBP.

However, the team will still parade the same faces of the Jewelers led by veteran players Stephen Padilla, Bruce Dacia, Woodrow Enriquez and Danny Aying and big men Ronald Capati and Marlon Basco.

The reigning Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation Inc. (Cesafi) back-to-back MVP Enrico Llanto is also in the team together with former MVPs Jayford Rodriguez and Jerry Cavan.

Alcoseba is eyeing the services of Mark Ababon, another former Cesafi MVP, for additional firepower at the backcourt and versatile power forward Michael Luga to the roster. Alcoseba is also negotiating for another post player to fill the 12th slot.

With the current set-up, the Niños are considered as one of the early favorites to win the first ever Liga Pilipinas title.

“The other teams have been building up because this is a very prestigious national tournament. (But) we promise to do our best especially in our home games at the Cebu Coliseum,” said Alcoseba.

The opening rites of the regular season will be held at the Cebu Coliseum on May 31 with a pre-season tournament catering to the grand opening salvo scheduled on May 24 also at the same venue.

Aside from the Niños, other team who will be pitting skills in the Liga Pilipinas includes Ilocos Sur, Pampanga, Taguig, Laguna, Quezon, Iloilo, Negros, Zamboanga, Pagadian, Ozamiz, Davao and Misamis Oriental. (RCM)

REGIONAL BASKETBALL fans will finally get to preview the coming inaugural season of Liga Pilipinas when the new league opens the first of its two preseason tournaments this Saturday (May 24) at the New Cebu Coliseum.

Eight southern teams are seeing action led by host Cebu Ninos of sports patron Michel J. Lhuillier and Coach Raul “Yayoy” Alcoseba. The teams will be divided into two groups that will play a single round robin. The two group toppers will meet in the one-game championship.

Ozamiz of Mayor Reynaldo O. Parojinog and Coach Albert Calvo and the Meteors of Gov. Oscar S. Moreno and new coach Jun Noel are seen as the biggest threats to knock off the favored Ninos. All the participating teams are familiar with each other having met in regional leagues of the recent past so the action will definitely be one to look out for.

Meanwhile, the Luzon-based squads will have their own preseason tilt to be hosted by the Taguig Batang Global of Mayor Freddie R. Tinga and Coach Jude Roque at the C. P. Tinga Memorial Hall in Taguig City starting on Sunday (May 25).

The Ilocos Sur Snipers, Baguio Victory, Laguna Stallions, Pampanga and Quezon Province will be the teams visiting Taguig City. The Batang Global have recently drawn the support of Harbour Centre of basketball patron Mikee Romero.

Liga Pilipinas, the country’s newest regional league sanctioned by the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (BAP-SBP), will be formally launched on May 31, 2008 in Cebu City.

There’s a 6-5, 200-pound Fil-Am point guard flying in to play for Pampanga in the inaugural season of Liga Pilipinas and the word is Jared Bautista Dillinger could be a high pick in the coming PBA draft.

Talk ’N’ Text coach Chot Reyes discovered Dillinger during a US scouting trip and said yesterday if he’s available in the PBA draft, the Phone Pals will choose the 24-year-old phenom who was born in Rapid City, South Dakota, to a Filipina mother Gemma Bautista and an American father James Dillinger of Colorado.

Dillinger will miss Liga’s four-day preseason tournament for Northern teams starting Sunday in Taguig. He is expected to arrive either June 2 or 3, according to Reyes, in time for Liga’s season opening on June 11.

“Right now, J. D. is rehabbing because of a slight knee injury,” said Reyes. “So he won’t be 100 percent when he starts playing for Pampanga. He’s a legitimate Fil-Am whose mother was still a Filipino citizen when he was born. I think she’s from Pangasinan or Zambales. He looks very Pinoy. He’ll be the tallest point guard in the country.”

Reyes said Dillinger plans to play the required minimum of 25 games here for eligibility in the next PBA draft where another Fil-Am Gabe Norwood is expected to be the top pick.

Dillinger averaged 9.7 points in 30 games, including 25 starts, for the University of Hawaii as a senior this past season. He led the varsity in three-point field goal percentage at .383 with 51 conversions and was second in steals with 34. In NCAA Division I games, the crack guard shot 19 points against New Mexico State, 17 against Centenary College, 15 against New Mexico, 14 against Utah State (including the go-ahead basket with a minute left), 14 against Boise State and 12 in a 40-minute no-relief job in another game against Utah State.

The year before, Dillinger played only six minutes in six games as the last player in the 14-man Hawaii roster and his scholarship was nearly taken away. But he worked hard to keep his spot during the summer and became a starter in a remarkable turnaround.

“I don’t know how to explain it,” said Dillinger, quoted by Dayton Morinaga of the Honolulu Advertiser, referring to his sudden emergence. “It’s just grit, I guess. A ball, a hoop and some hard work. Last year was what made me strong mentally. I know I can’t take anything for granted. That’s why I try to give everything I have, every minute out there.”

Before enrolling at Hawaii, Dillinger played two years for the US Air Force Academy where he said he developed discipline, integrity and character. The Air Force posted a combined 40-18 record during his two years as a reserve guard. He averaged only 1.7 points as a freshman when Air Force made it to the NCAA Tournament, losing to North Carolina in the first round.

Dillinger’s Hawaii teammate Riley Luettgorodt told Morinaga: “He was always one of those guys you wanted on your team because he plays so hard and aggressive. This year, he started knocking down big shots and that just made him a complete player.”

University of Hawaii coach Bob Nash said: “He’s done everything we asked of him even last year when he was on scout team. It’s nice to see hard work pay off like that. There’s no mistaking his love for the game and if he can transfer that to the things he wants to do later in life, I think he’ll earn it there, too.”

Dillinger, who has never been to the Philippines, took up a Tagalog course at the University of Hawaii last year.

“I can’t speak the language,” said Dillinger who grew up with his father from five years old. “When I was in Tagalog class, I was calling up my little cousins to help me. They’re only in fourth and fifth grade but they got me through class. I eat Filipino food like pansit and lumpia (which) my mom used to cook all the time.”

Dillinger, whose double majors are international business and finance, said it’s his goal to play in the PBA. Liga Pilipinas is his stepping stone to the big league.

While I am in complete agreement with many who say we must extend support to sports other than basketball, the reality is Filipinos just can’t get enough of it.

It probably stems from the fact that from early childhood, we are exposed to the game, wherever in the country one grows up. There are basketball courts in almost every street corner, and there are basketball tournaments to cap just about every celebration.

Although playing in the PBA is still the ultimate goal of every hoopster who ever imagined himself to be talented enough to be one of the best, getting there is more difficult than one can imagine.

The mere fact that we are a developing country separated by bodies of water, mountains and all sorts of other barriers, has made it almost impossible for talents in the nooks and crannies to be discovered.

And with the vast pool of talents we must have in the countryside, there must be a vehicle for them to be acknowledged and nurtured.

Comes now the newest innovation of former PBA Commissioner Noli Eala- Liga Pilipinas.

Noli may be many things to many people, but to me he is one of the most innovative and imaginative men in the local sports scene.

When I first heard of Liga Pilipinas, I was prepared to dismiss it as just one of those dime-a-dozen tournaments some joker put together to turn in a fast buck.

These ventures normally don’t last long, nor do they make any money.

When I found out Noli was involved, I took a closer look, and was not disappointed.

But the problem with regional tournaments such as that of the defunct MBA, is that the logistics involved are nothing short of gargantuan.

Again, our archipelagic situation and the cost of island-hopping are naturally substantial.

This was the first concern I confronted Noli with, and typically he informed me he had labored over the matter, and had come up with a viable scheme that would reduce the cost drastically.

"Firstly, we will see to it that players are not highpriced (there will be a R20,000 monthly salary cap, although won-game bonuses will be open-ended).

We will also ensure that majority of the players are home-grown (at least 8 of 14). This will not only appeal to the regional loyalties of the public, but also address our goal of discovering new talents from other areas in the country."

Each team (all Liga Pilipinas teams are municipality, city or provincebased, with commercial partners) will host an elimination round leg that would be participated in by at least three other teams, the champion of which will get cash rewards and tournament points, which will be the basis for determining which teams will get into the play-offs.

Since there are currently 14 teams, there will be an equal number of legs, and each team will play in only four legs which means they will travel only three times before the play-offs come around.

In a talk I had with Noli on my show on Sports Radio (918 kHz) last Monday, he sounded very upbeat as the two latest teams had just signed on- Quezon Province and Baguio.

Liga Pilipinas will be introduced to fans and media at a “soft” opening in Cebu and Taguig this weekend.

Liga president Noli Eala said a four-day preseason tournament for southern teams will be held in Cebu starting tomorrow. A similar four-day affair will be staged for northern squads in Taguig starting Sunday.

Teams will be allowed to use players of their choice without getting clearance from Liga officials. But once the regular season begins on June 11, each team will be required to enlist at least eight homegrown players in a 14-man roster.

“The preseason games will be a gauge of how ready we are,” said Eala. “It’s our dry-run. We’ll also test our pool of referees under Perry Martinez’ supervision. We’ve hired 28 referees for the south and 18 for the north.”

Eala said NBN will be the carrying network for the preseason games, providing air time and production. Two networks will likely be tapped for the regular season – NBN and possibly, IBC. “We’ll be using broadband transmission, not microwave facilities, so we expect to be more efficient,” he added.

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